Riding Jessica on the Ranch

Jessica is a somewhat stubborn little Quarter Horse ranch mare owned by a relative. She is the mother of Caesar and the half-sister of Luke - two more ranch horses you'll meet in later posts.

Her and my personalities clash and we don't really get along. I generally won't refuse riding any horse that isn't too much for me, but it just bugs me when the horse only ever wants to go to a certain place. Which really is a pity, because Jessica keeps her head nice and collected without even being asked.

A few times I attempted cantering loping Jessica, but neither her nor I really did it right. I was a bit unstable and she didn't want to go into the right lead. Which meant we mostly walked and trotted jogged from there on!

About 80% of my riding was done with a bareback pad. A bareback pad is basically somewhat-padded fabric with a cinch. It doesn't do much but keep the seat of your pants clean.

Sometimes I'll see bareback pads with stirrups, but in my opinion those are very unsafe. No one should be relying on safety from a couple layers of flimsy nothings. Much better to keep the bareback pad just that: a bareback pad.

Jessica with the bareback pad. (And no, the top strap is *not* for holding on to while riding.)